Upgraded airport will downgrade daily life

As a community affected dramatically by the uptick in commercial air traffic, we vigorously disagree with The Times’ editorial “Trenton-Mercer Airport growth must keep pace with Frontier Airlines expansion” (March 3).

We are among those families who purchased our homes believing the airport to be a great asset to local commuter pilots and occasional corporate flights. The invasive noise and house-shaking we are experiencing with the current Frontier flights are debilitating and alarming.

We suspect no one, no matter how desirous of convenient flights, would sanction this level of disturbance in their neighbors’ lives, much less their own. Children who play in our back yards, toddlers attempting to nap, taxpayers working from home unable to hear business calls, are all suffering as the ominous shadows of airliners pass low overhead with increasing frequency.

The move to cut trees in order to provide more convenient access for takeoff and landing is an affront to the idea of mindful property development. It is an ironic symbol of championing commerce over the quality of life and environmental issues many hold dear. Anyone choosing this area for their home is aware of major airports, north and south, that have served our communities for generations. Many move to this area seeking the Garden State ideal and hold dear the rural, agricultural and open space we believed was protected.

The county’s alarming goal of increasing commercial traffic and upgrading the terminal and the parking area is proof that some of our freeholders seek profit over the health and sanity of residents. We, as engaged citizens of Hopewell Township, ask for a more comprehensive look at the communities deleteriously affected by the airport expansion, and hope our neighbors in Ewing and Bucks County make their voices heard alongside ours.

--Judy Clarke,
Paul Kiss,
Jennifer Paolini
and Saraya Coufal,
Hopewell Township
The writers, members of STORM (Southern Tier Organized Members), represent the many residents who have joined together to protect their neighborhood environments from unbalanced development.

Make the most of Trenton’s mayoral election

Regarding the recent confusion over candidate petitions for the coming Trenton elections (“Special counsel: Petition error a first for the state,” March 15), getting such things right is important.

Regarding the notion that the error should not have been pointed out, it would also be troubling when later discovered, further adversely affecting the city’s reputation. Who wants to help a city (for example, with grants, or help from the county, surrounding municipalities, corporations, state, etc.) if it has consistently demonstrated that its government is not able to perform important, basic and essential administrative work?

In our city hall and school district, the culture of carelessness, contrasting with the private sector and other municipalities, must change in a very big way. That’s a heavy lift. A mayor is needed who is proven to be willing able, and ready right now to do that.
We must choose the candidate with the directly related experience, education, proven leadership skills and ideas. Voters must not choose primarily based on party loyalty, on whom they know the most at this point or on any "what's in it for me" consideration.
Things like having been born in Trenton are not good criteria for making this choice.

I urge Trenton’s voters to please care about our city and do the work to learn verifiable, relevant information about all the candidates and to help educate others. We must show by the election results that we are no longer following the same path, but have the courage to create real change to turn a corner in our history.

--David Bergin Brown,
Trenton

New anti-Tesla rules drive innovation away

Ayn Rand has long been a hero to the Republican Party. Her book, “Atlas Shrugged,” describes a crumbling society filled with “know-nothing” politicians working with business owners to protect their monopolies against revolutionary new ideas and companies. The virtue of a free market is the book’s central theme.

The MVC ruled against Tesla March 11, with only one day’s notice to the public, and even though the public showed up en masse to its meeting, it didn’t allow citizens to speak against the measure until after the vote was taken. The fix was in.

As many have commented online and in the national press, Mr. Christie has ensured that New Jersey car buyers will continue to get the same bad treatment from dealers and the same gas-guzzling cars they always have.

Gov. Christie should turn in his Republican card.

--Dan Dodson,
Trenton
The writer owns a Tesla.

We’ve got to work together to lower property taxes

Every registered voter suffers the hardship of tax increases. Hamilton Township Director of Development Mike Angarone’s swipe (“Current administration wants what's best for Hamilton,” March 10) at township Democratic Club President Eileen Thornton ("Retirees get the brunt of underfunded pension fund," Feb. 19), does nothing to soothe that hardship. It was with Assemblymen Wayne DeAngelo and Dan Benson that Ms. Thornton grew the economy in Hamilton. This blame game is unacceptable. Hamilton, which is a place of neighbors, cannot afford his Washington, D.C.-style rhetoric. Let’s be balanced and work together.

The energy tax receipts issue is a red herring. Gov. Chris Christie’s failure to return these monies is not the only culprit for why taxes are going up.

The biggest culprits are the added $1 million in debt payments we now make every year and the falling tax ratables over the same five-year period of Republican control that Mr. Angarone boasts of.

Why only look back five years of Republican control instead of its entire eight years of control? That would necessitate pointing out, including the current proposed 7-point tax hike, that under Republican control, the tax rate has grown 50 percent. Furthermore, in revisiting the $16 million operating deficit under former Democratic Mayor Glen Gilmore, it is fair to point out that this occurred during Republican control of the council. If it is a blame game Mr. Angarone wishes, who is to blame for the history of financial havoc – the Republican council in charge of spending or the Democratic mayor? What about the growth to our current $95 million in debt?

--Emma L. Coefer,
Hamilton
The writer is a member of the Hamilton Township Democratic Club.